Uttarakhand HC Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Group Assault On Cousin’s Husband, Noting Simple Injuries And Co-Accused’s Bail

The applicant was in judicial custody in connection with an FIR registered at Nehru Colony Police Station, Dehradun, for offences under Sections 117(2), 191(2), 351(3), 140(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

The informant alleged that the applicant and others assaulted him, attempted to kill him and tried to abduct him.

The applicant contended that the dispute arose from matrimonial discord involving his cousin sister, that he had called the informant to discuss the dispute, and that the ingredients of Section 140(1) BNS were not made out. He also relied on the simple nature of the injuries, a co-accused’s release on bail, his local residence and the likely delay in trial.

The State opposed bail but did not dispute the recorded nature of the injuries or the applicant’s custody.

The charges arose under Sections 117(2), 191(2), 351(3), 140(1) and 3(5) BNS.

It identifies as relevant considerations the nature of the allegations, the nature of the injuries, the period of incarceration and the fact that a co-accused had been granted bail.

The Court considered the applicant’s challenge to the applicability of Section 140(1) BNS as a submission advanced in support of bail, without determining its merits.

The Court considered the competing submissions and the material on record, including the allegations, the recorded finding that the injuries were simple, the applicant’s period in custody and the co-accused’s release on bail.

On the combined weight of those circumstances, it found that the applicant had made out a case for bail.

It expressly did not decide the merits of the case.

It directed his release on furnishing a personal bond and two reliable sureties, each in the like amount, to the satisfaction of the court concerned.